Vampyr Delayed Into Spring 2018

By Kyle Sledge 20 March 2019

The last we saw of Focus Home Interactive and DontNod Entertainment’s forthcoming role-playing game Vampyr was during E3 2017, as the companies released a sizable portion of gameplay footage that showed off how the title’s combat and dialogue system would look in action. Now, however, it looks as if fans will have to wait a mite longer before getting their hands on the release, as the development team behind the game have officially announced that it’s being delayed into Spring 2018.

The announcement comes by way of a press release courtesy of DontNod Entertainment, explaining that Vampyr‘s original November 2017 release date has to be pushed back due to a “technical issue” that has resulted in the need for extra time to polish and balance the game accordingly. Although the CEO of DontNod Entertainment, Oskar Guilbert, didn’t explain what the setback was, he expressed gratitude to the game’s publisher and thanked fans for the patience they have already shown.

“Delaying the release of a project you hold dear is always a tough decision. However, we believe that meeting a deadline should never compromise quality. We were still convinced just a few weeks ago that we would be able to release Vampyr this year. Unfortunately, a technical issue – now solved – has set our teams’ schedule back at the end of the development.

“This delay allows us enough time for all the polishing and balancing phase, much needed for a game of Vampyr‘s scope, with its ambitious, semi-open world, its complex narrative and deep RPG mechanics that give players a real impact on the world.

“We want to thank our publisher Focus Home Interactive for giving us the means and time necessary to provide players a memorable experience… especially since so many of you are eagerly waiting for it.”

For those unaware of Vampyr and its story, players will take control of a famous surgeon known as Dr. Jonathan Reid, who has been recognized for his dedication to saving lives during the Spanish Flu epidemic. However, his experience in the Great War has left him cursed with vampirism, as he now must struggle to find his humanity upon his return home to the dark and gritty world of 1918 London.

The development of Vampyr originally began with a team of 60 people, which was later expanded to include around 80 members, with many of them having worked on Dontnod Entertainment’s previous project Life Is Strange. While the delay of Vampyr will likely disappoint those looking forward to the title, one can only imagine that as the game continues to expand alongside the development team’s size, more production complications have arisen due to such growth. So, with any luck, Vampyr will avoid any additional pitfalls as its development process continues.

Vampyr is slated to release sometime in Spring 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.